Provisional attachment under the PMLA was upheld where...

Provisional attachment under the PMLA was upheld where transactional records, cash deposits and transfers linked the property acquisition to diversion of investor funds; the Tribunal found no satisfactory documentary explanation that funds were legitimate and rejected claims that the property pre-dated the predicate offence. The burden to prove legitimate source was not discharged given the husband's implicated role and lack of credible proof for alleged family payments or gold sale. Applying the statutory definition of value as fair market value at acquisition (or possession), the Tribunal concluded the valuation did not exceed proceeds of crime and confirmed the attachment.

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